Nanny assaulted at Petrie dies in Poland as alleged attacker faces Brisbane court, police say
Updated
A 24-year-old nanny who was sexually assaulted in Brisbane last year has died in a traffic incident in Poland, in the same week her alleged attacker appeared in court, Queensland police say.
The woman was allegedly attacked in a council car park at Petrie, north of Brisbane, about 8:30pm on November 25.
She had been due to return home to Poland a few weeks later after working as an au pair, police said at the time.
The woman went for her usual evening walk in her local area, and came to a neighbouring house for help about 30 minutes after the attack with facial injuries.
She was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
After a lengthy investigation, a 28-year-old man from Petrie was charged on Thursday night with rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm.
Acting Detective Superintendent Michael O'Dowd said the man faced a closed court hearing in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today, where he was remanded in custody.
"The police officers involved, having considered all the information and the evidence they received during the investigation, were of a belief that bail should be objected to due to the nature and the circumstances of the offences the person's been charged with," he said.
Superintendent O'Dowd said it was "a sad set of circumstances" for the woman to suffer the attack and then to be killed in a traffic accident in Poland.
"I think everyone who's been involved in the job have been moved by that, that [her death] occurred."
He said police identified the alleged attacker as a person of interest "some time ago".
"As a result of some inquiries we conducted in relation to that male person we were able to establish his movement and some other information we obtained that enabled us to prefer charges."
He said police would be alleging that CCTV footage was of great assistance to the investigation.
"I have to congratulate the detectives who've been involved in this matter over the last couple of months who've been quite methodical in going about their business in identifying a suspect."
Topics: courts-and-trials, sexual-offences, brisbane-4000, qld, australia, poland
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